Main menu

Main menu

Sign up for our newsletter

Office Beauty Committee

October 19, 2018

At office, we love beauty. But we also know that beauty products can cost some serious dough. So, we’ve decided to put together our very own office Beauty Committee, who will test out all different products, both bougie and ones that won’t break the bank, to let you know which ones you can pass on, and what products you desperately need to survive in New York.

Kanako has beat the faces of every model in the game on the covers of magazines like i-D and Vogue Italia, and on the runway for brands like Eckhaus Latta and YSL; Mark Jen Hsu has styled campaigns for Kenzo, and worked with almost every major mag; Tina Outen is a fashion industry OG who, just this Fashion Month, styled hair at Unravel, Koché, Philipp Plein, Luar, Markus Lupfer, Natasha Zinko, Bora Aksu, Charlotte Knowles and more; Alexandra Marzella, who you've probably seen online as @artwerk6666, or before that, @artits6666, is a model, artist who's posed for brands like Eckhaus Latta and artists like Richard Kern, while sharing openly—and in the nude—online; and of course, Kyra Cheria is a singer/model/dancer/actress and all around cool girl, who you've likely seen on the runway for brands like Gypsy Sport and Hardeman, or posing on Instagram as her alter ego, @tacobell_DSL.

Get to know them better below, and be sure to follow all of their committee antics at @officebeautynyc.

KANAKO TAKASE, 32, BROOKLYN

How do you describe what you do?

Helping people‘s visual imagination to come alive on their face.

Where were you born?

The southern part of Japan.

What’s your favorite childhood memory?

I was stung by jellyfish after a typhoon. It lit up fluorescent green when it wrapped around my left arm and stung me. It was so painful, but I laughed so hard.

What’s the most embarrassing beauty look or trend you fully adopted?

Straightened perm hair in Junior High.

What’s invisible but you wish everyone could see?

A connection from our past life.

Your journey from the womb to the present moment in one sentence:

It’s been smooth—no struggles.

What’s your personal beauty philosophy and/or mantra?

Sometimes we need a break from fancy products to not to spoil our skin.

Who’s your ultimate beauty icon?

Björk.

What’s the one beauty product everyone needs in their bag at all times?

Lip balm. I like Odacité lip serum right now.

How do you measure your personal success in your industry?

If I’m happy with what I’m doing and the people I work with are happy at the end of the day.

MARK JEN HSU, 28, NEW YORK CITY

How do you describe what you do?

I’m a fashion stylist, so I work with other creatives to make images—hopefully memorable ones.

Where were you born?

Taiwan.

What’s your favorite childhood memory?

I grew up in a countryside home with my grandparents. One day I rode on a goose thinking it was a horse and I was a knight. That evening, we had goose for dinner because I was too heavy for it. I was 3 years old.

What’s the most embarrassing beauty look or trend you fully adopted?

I am obsessed with eyebrows and do a lot with them. Pai Mai has fierce eyebrows.

What’s invisible but you wish everyone could see?

Nothing is invisible, eventually everyone sees everything.

Your journey from the womb to the present moment in one sentence:

DON’T THINK ABOUT IT.

What’s your personal beauty philosophy and/or mantra?

Take selfies when you are hungover.

Who’s your ultimate beauty icon?

My Asian ancestors.

What’s the one item everyone needs in their closet?

Sexy underwear.

What’s the most important trait to have in your line of work, besides style?

An eagerness to learn.

TINA OUTEN, NEW YORK & LONDON

How do you describe what you do?

I’m a hairstylist and colorist working in the fashion industry on set and on runway shows.

How old are you?

Ladies don’t tell.

Where were you born?

Chatham, Kent.

What’s your favorite childhood memory?

I have hardly any childhood memories, though one I do clearly still see is lying on our back lawn watching a plane fly overhead thinking it was my parents on board en route to Jamaica. I think I was around 4 years old, and they were going away for the first time. My sister and I were playing in the garden with my nan and she was telling us they were all the way up in the sky. I’ve been fascinated with planes ever since.

What’s the most embarrassing beauty look or trend you fully adopted?

I’ve never been embarrassed by any styles I experimented with as I was a teen in the ‘80s and we fully went for it. Personal expression was what we were all about. Always. So, I grew confidence young and have never wanted to look like everyone else. Everything now is tame in comparison.

What’s invisible but you wish everyone could see?

What people do and don’t see is a reflection of their own self-worth. I’ve never been interested in what other people think of me, so I have no desire to be seen.

Your journey from the womb to the present moment in one sentence.

Magical.

What’s your personal beauty philosophy and/or mantra?

Be yourself, be happy, experiment and express yourself .

Who’s your ultimate beauty icon?

Growing up, I was obsessed with Marilyn Monroe—I had posters of her everywhere. I loved her hair, her make up, her sadness and her joy. I could relate to the power of her vulnerability, all the emotions that created her feminine strength and weakness, packaged as a total sex bomb.

What’s the one hair product everyone needs in their bathroom?

Hair Masque. And use it at least once a week—don’t just have it sit there looking cared for. We all should have shiny glossy hair.

What distinguishes hair from other mediums of expression?

Hair is completely individual to the head it’s on. How it behaves depends on how it’s cared for, so it’s responsive to what you put on it, what shampoo, conditioner, masque, color, bleach, styling products, heat, cut, which can all be changed up to create a different response. So, it’s alive, it has a life, it gives you an identity you can elevate or bring down, use it to rebel or conform. No two heads of hair are the same, so it’s your one truly personal identity to express and own.

ALEXANDRA MARZELLA, NEW YORK CITY

How do you describe what you do?

Gosh, I really try not to. Lately I've been saying I'm a performer/entertainer. But I usually sum it up with a succinct, ‘I'm a clown.’

Where were you born?

Providence, Rhode Island.

What’s your favorite childhood memory?

Being a bad bitch.

What’s the most embarrassing beauty look or trend you fully adopted?

White feminism.

What’s invisible but you wish everyone could see?

The truth.

Your journey from the womb to the present moment in one sentence:

‘Private ATV rides in the dunes of my heart.’

What’s your personal beauty philosophy and/or mantra?

This.

Who’s your ultimate beauty icon?

Me.

What’s the one item everyone needs in their closet?

Me.

What’s the most important trait to have in your line of work, besides style?

PIZZAZZ.

KYRA CHERIE, 23, BROOKLYN

How do you describe what you do?

I’m a multi-dimensional artist who teaches dance fitness, exotic dances and models on the side for the coin!

Where were you born?

Redwood City, California

What’s your favorite childhood memory?

Every Christmas morning my brother would wake me up at 4 or 5AM to see if Santa came, even though he knew he doesn’t exist. He would still play along to make me super excited. I’ll never forget that and the way it made me feel.

What’s the most embarrassing beauty look or trend you fully adopted?

I definitely had a bindi phase.

What’s invisible but you wish everyone could see?

How much of a sensitive empath I am.

Your journey from the womb to the present moment in one sentence.

Dance, music and fashion have been at the core of my expressive self throughout my life and are the essence of my colorful, badass personality.

What’s your personal beauty philosophy and/or mantra?

I try to remind myself that I’m that bitch and there’s no one out there like me. I’m my own sickening entity.

Who’s your ultimate beauty icon?

A tie between Aaliyah and Christina Aguilera in their prime.

What’s the one thing you’ll never get on stage without?

Falsies! Gotta give that eye a dramatic lash, always!

What stereotype about your profession have you found to be total bullshit?

I guess when it comes to striping, people make the assumption that we don’t respect ourselves or our bodies, and that we only choose to strip as our last resort. Both of these are often times false, bullshit accusations.

Lead photo by Dario Catellani from office Issue 01; all member photos courtesy of the committee.

Color Composure

May 24, 2019

Let's get one thing straight - rainbow hair is all the rage. While Frank Ocean may have inititiated the frenzy when he dyed his doo green for his 2016 album “Blonde," others have certainly kept the trend afloat. Kanye West has been experimenting with different shades over the last few years, while Kristen Stewart sported neon red hair and yellow eyebrows at this year’s Met Gala.

Creative director and hair colorist Aura Friedman is no stranger to ROYGBIV, often incorporating vibrant hues, bold dye jobs, and gradient streaks into ber body of work--just peep the tiger-stripe look that she gave English artist Patrick Church for New York Fashion Week.

Punk yet soft, masculine yet feminine, is the vibe that Friedman and photographer Marissa Kaiser created for this beauty editorial featuring model and rapper Henry Crawford. What really makes the imagery pop, however, is the juxtaposition of the vibrant rainbow blend Crawford rocks with his icy, stoic glare and bloody tears. With a perfect blending of color, emotion, and flowers, how could you go wrong?

Watch Out, It's Gemini Season

May 21, 2019

“Aren’t we all just aliens on planet earth?” This matching set of extraterrestrial life forms are unlike any other-fierce in fashion and identity, the Dupont Twins are other worldly. in this day and age wrought with monotony and sameness, nothing is more powerful than one who radiates their authentic spirit daringly. These two don’t hold back for anyone.

Love who you are, present yourself boldly, and be honest with your identity. This pair of Gemini’s refuse to be anyone else but themselves, and with personalities this big, why the hell should they? “You have no limits when you are shamelessly your true self," they explained. Self is limitless.

Fashion and Identity cannot be separated, as beauty and life must always flourish side by side. Life cannot exist without beauty. Connecting with your inner beauty and translating this sacred connection with the outside world takes true courage. That's why we linked up with The Dupont Twins, beauty royalty of the generation - check out the full interview below.

Define beauty.

Beauty is hard to define as it is in everything. Anything that we come into contact with that stimulates emotion is beautiful.

What is your mission on Earth?

We really live to inspire people through our work and to show that you have no limits when you are shamelessly you’re true self.

Do you believe in alien life?

Absolutely. After all, from an outside perspective, aren’t we all just aliens on planet earth.

Your work often find the beauty in horror—what are you afraid of?

We are afraid of a world without fashion, who would we be without it.

How do you overcome fear?

You face it.

Name two beauty icons, one living, one dead.

Icon David Bowie and living legend Pat McGrath.

If you could only use one product for the rest of your life, what would it be, and why?

A tinted SPF, our favorite is Laura Mercier, because it gives our skin that perfect boost and protects it.

How do you see yourselves transforming as artists?

We are constantly transforming as artists. As Gemini’s we get bored quickly & are always looking for new things to inspire us.

As gender fluid models, your very existence is a revolutionary act of subversion—what ways have you continued to create positive change?

By never compromising who we are. It sets the tone for not only our community but for everybody else....it shows we deserve to be here just as much as they do.

What is your relationship to fashion?

Fashion is a consistent inspiration for us and our biggest outlet of self expression. Our fashion is our identity.

How do you discover inner beauty?

We can’t tell you how to discover your true beauty but for us, it’s about loving yourself no matter what.

What is your daily regiment?

It changes day to day depending on where we’re going and who we’re seeing. One thing we use a lot of while getting ready is time.

Something you take from each other?

Jake takes all my clothes and Joseph steals all my makeup.

Tell me a secret.

Secrets cost extra.

Word associations: ugly; sexy.

Sexy: a heel. Ugly: flats.

2019 prediction?

We have a feeling we’ll be taking over some new cities this year as well as working with some of the greats...stay tuned.

Rise of Another

May 19, 2019

Ideals of beauty are a fickle beast. The Egyptian court had their heavy wigs and body makeup, the Mayans their bejeweled teeth, the Japanese geishas their painted white faces and complex hairdos, the Northern European Renaissance their fleshy pink muses. I often wonder if there is such a thing as universal beauty, and if so, how do we define it?

In case you haven’t noticed, ideals of beauty are in flux these days. The youth are questioning old standards of skeletal malnutrition and Eurocentric skin tone as the go-to look for all things fashion and aspiration. And why shouldn’t we? It’s odd that in an era of plenty, restriction seems the only avenue to health and bodily splendor.

office wondered: what does it look like, instead of always telling yourself “No,” to say, with triumph, with hubris, with chutzpah, “Yes, yes, hell yes”?

It was in this spirit that we photographed models Agusta, Sam, Tash, Cait, Alva, Kinjhi, and Danielle (pictured above), and gave them a small set of questions to answer by hand—questions not only every model certainly must consider while under the cold gaze of the camera lens, but what every modern woman, man, and non-binary internally asks herself, himself, and themself.